The Church Wedding
by iloveromance
Summary: Despite protests from their families, Sylvia and Albert finally get married in the wedding of their dreams. Alternate ending to the "Sylvia" episode. As told in the voice of Laura Ingalls Wilder.


This is it; the day I become a sister-in-law. Not that I mind, of course. After all, I've been through this before, when my older sister Mary became Mrs. Adam Kendall.

But this is different.

Today, my younger brother (and my student), Albert Ingalls is marrying Sylvia Webb; a sweet girl that he met at school and protected when the other boys

would tease her. And ultimately, they fell in love. Oh, I had my doubts about the relationship at first. After all they've only known each other a short time.

Sylvia seemed to be used to the boys teasing her, but one day she suffered a terrible ordeal. She was physically attacked by a masked man and it must

have traumatized her deeply. I can't even imagine how frightened she was. A few days later, she collapsed at school and when Albert and I took her to Doc

Baker, we were stunned to learn that she was with it to Albert to play the hero. He insisted on marrying her so that the

baby would have a father.

But then tragedy struck. The masked man returned, and while trying to escape him, Sylvia fell from a ladder in the barn and ultimately lost the baby.

But Albert really loved her and despite her father's disapproval (as well as our Ma and Pa's), pledged to marry her.

On her sickbed, Sylvia told Albert that she dreamed of having a church wedding, and Ma and Pa were only too happy to fulfill her dream.

By God's good grace, Sylvia survived the accident. And now here we are, waiting anxiously for the ceremony to start.

Outside, Ma was busy helping Sylvia get ready; shedding tears of joy just like the day Mary and I were brides.

Finally the big moment arrived.

The piano began to play "Here Comes the Bride". Almanzo squeezed my hand as we watched Sylvia walk down the aisle on the arm of her father, who to my

surprise, was beaming with pride.

Oh, she looked beautiful! She was wearing the long white dress that Ma made her; complete with a lace veil that must come dear. Ma and Pa weren't wealthy

like the Olson's. In her hand was a bouquet of wildflowers, and I've never seen Albert look happier in my life. They never took their eyes off of each

other.

Mr. Webb smiled at Albert and then Sylvia as he presented his daughter to the Reverend Alden.

"Dearly beloved..." He said as he began the ceremony. "We are gathered here today in the sight of God to join these two young people in holy matrimony.

Marriage is a sacred institute..."

I looked at Albert, unable to stop thinking about how young he was. Believe me, Ma and Pa weren't too happy when Albert announced that he and Sylvia

were getting married. Pa tried to talk some sense into him, to make him understand that he would have to earn a living to take care of a wife and child.

And Albert did his best to follow Pa's advice. He had a steady job at the Mill, working for Mr. Olson. Unfortunately his job at Mr. Hartwig's turned out to be a huge mess

when it was revealed that Mr. Hartwig was responsible for Sylvia's accident; a fact that stunned the community of Walnut Grove-and outraged

others.

But when they realized that Albert and Sylvia were really in love, they had a change of heart and welcomed Sylvia into the family. I, however wasn't so easily swayed.

After all, Albert was only fourteen and Sylvia was even younger.

But like Ma and Pa, when I saw Albert and Sylvia gazing into each other's eyes, I could tell they were truly in love.

Just like Almanzo and me.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." Reverend Alden said with a smile. "Albert, you may kiss the bride."

Albert grinned at Reverend Alden and then looked over at his wife. Slowly he lifted her veil and gave her the sweetest kiss I've ever seen. Almanzo noticed me crying

and kissed my cheek. Usually he teases me but I guess he figures that he's seen me crying enough times to know that I get sentimental at

weddings.

Or perhaps he's remembering when we got married. Oh, I was happier on that day than I ever dreamed possible. But today belongs to Albert and Sylvia and I can't let

myself forget about that.

The whole church applauded and sighed as Sylvia and Albert kissed again. And like my own, there were plenty of tears;

Ma was crying, as well as Pa. Even Sylvia's father cried. It was truly wonderful to see everyone so happy in the wake of the horrible ordeal that Sylvia went

through.

After the ceremony, everyone went to congratulate the happy couple. Everyone except Mrs. Olson, that is.

"This is appalling, having to go to a wedding for that...!" She yelled; her hands on her hips. "And that Ingalls boy! He's completely irresponsible, tormenting that girl the

way he did. Why, you'd think a man like Charles Ingalls would have done a better job of raising his only son!"

At this I was fuming. How dare she talk about my family that way!

"Why, that girl is nothing but a tramp, who-."

"Mrs. Olson!" I yelled as I stormed up to her. "Sylvia is most certainly not a tramp and my brother loves her very much! If you were so against this wedding then

perhaps you should have stayed home. It would have made this day more pleasant for everybody!"

Mrs. Olson's jaw dropped at my boldness and for a minute she could only stare.

"Laura Wilder! Of all the horrible things to say!"

I smirked at her. "I could think of a lot worse, but we're in church!" I yelled back.

Again her jaw dropped. "Well, I never!" she said as Mr. Olson appeared beside her.

"Nels, can you believe the nerve of her? Defending that... that _girl_? But I suppose it shouldn't come as any surprise, considering that we're talking

about the Ingalls."

Normally I'm able to hold in my anger, but I felt hot tears rising behind my eyes. She'd said such horrid things about my family, and I won't stand for that.

However, I wasn't about to let Mrs. Olson see me cry. That would be worse than crying in front of Nellie! And considering that Nellie and I were now

friends, I almost wished that she was here to put her mother in her place.

The tears were threatening to fall and I had to fight to keep them at bay.

_Please don't let me cry..._ I silently prayed. Not in front of Mrs. Olson.

And as if God heard my prayer, I felt Almanzo's hands on my shoulders, letting me know that I was loved.

"And another thing, Almanzo Wilder, you'd better talk some sense into your wife and-."

"HARRIET, BE QUIET!" Mr. Olson's voice boomed.

Boy... that shut her up quick! I had to look away to keep from laughing, but I could tell that Mr. Olson was having difficultly keeping a straight face.

"Thank you." I said, hugging Mr. Olson after his wife stormed off in a huff.

"It was my pleasure, believe me." He replied with a smile. "Now let's go congratulate the happy couple."

We walked over to Albert and Sylvia where I hugged them tightly.

"You look beautiful." I said to Sylvia.

She blushed at my compliment. "Thank you, Mrs. Wilder."

"Look, we're family now, so call me _Laura_." I said. "You can save the _Mrs. Wilder_ for school."

"And I insist that you call me _Caroline_." Ma said.

"And you can call me _Charles_." Pa added.

"Or _Ma and Pa_!" Albert said, making us all laugh.

"Well, who wants to go over to the restaurant for a celebration?" he asked, smiling when everyone cheered in reply.

Later as the bride and groom cut the cake, I leaned against Almanzo and smiled. In that moment, whatever doubts I had about Albert and Sylvia had

vanished.

I was just a kid myself when I met Almanzo and now I'm happier than ever. I guess you're never too young to fall in love.

THE END

**A/N... This is my first attempt at a LHOTP story, so I hope you enjoyed it. I tried to keep everyone in character as much as possible, but any suggestions (and **

**especially reviews!) are appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


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